Pen Tablets... Essential or not?

[Rob_IMX]

Hey,

I thought this would be an interesting discussion to start up (dunno if it's been done before! lol).

I got an Intuos 4 about 5 years ago and I have NO IDEA how I ever functioned without it! Any type of fine brush manipulation with Photoshop is 100x easier with a pen tablet. I'm so used to it now, I almost use it for every program and rarely touch my magic mouse!

http://www.wacom.com/en/creative/products/pen-tablets/intuos

What are your thoughts?

 

[vizzwebsolutions]

i am not comfortable in use of
[h=2]Pen Tablets[/h]

 

[MrPixel]

I got my wacom intuos 5 a couple of months and like you i now wonder how i ever got on without it before, i'm still getting used to mine but i rarely use my mouse with photoshop anymore i used to use the cyborg mmo mouse with photoshop because i could slow down the dpi with a click of a button also i could map like 70 odd key commands to the mouse's buttons but yes pen tablets imho make life a lot easier

 

[Rob_IMX]

Took me a while to get used to right-clicking with the pen but now I'm good with it. The programable buttons on the tablet itself, I haven't gotten around to using them.

 

[IamSam]

I started with a Bamboo not knowing whether or not I would like a tablet. I agree with Rob, when it comes to fine use of the Eraser, Brush, Blur, Sharpen, Smudge, Dodge, Burn, or Sponge tools I use the tablet almost exclusively. For the reason I explain below, everything else I do with the mouse especially the Pen tool!

The one feature I dislike the most about the Bamboo is that you must hover the pen a certain distance above the tablet in order to engage the cursor and a click function occurs when the pen tip touches the tablet. Because of this I make thousands of accidental "pen touches" and I'm wearing out the command + Z keys on the keypad! I would be much more comfortable resting the pen on the tablet to engage the cursor and using the rocker arm button on the pen to perform a click function. This is not a choice amoung the many programmable features of the tablet, otherwise, I believe I would do away with the mouse completely.

 

[Rob_IMX]

Interesting point IamSam. I have made a few "accidental" brush strokes but not that many and it hasn't been a huge problem for me. I wonder if it's a tablet quality issue or whatnot...

 

[IamSam]

It could very well be the quality of the tablet as well as it's size! I have not had the opportunity to use a better one. Does the Intuos 4 offer more functions like I mentioned earlier?

I practice with mine on every project in hopes of getting completely used to it. I also think I'm trying to use wrist movements when I should be moving my entire arm.

 

[Rob_IMX]

With the intuos 4, I find I am able to rest my hand on the tablet with the pen tip not more than a centimeter above the surface and move the cursor around but the click or brush stroke is not activated until I actually make contact. I haven't found this process difficult or uncomfortable, it honestly feels just like holding a pen over a piece of paper and drawing.

I haven't really experimented with the customizing options with the Intuos... I haven't felt the need to do so.

 

[Keke]

It take lot of effort to get used to it

 

[Jessicayla]

I have the Intuos 4 and honestly I think because I've used my mouse for so long, I don't use my tablet as much as I should. I normally don't do much fine editing and I use a lot of adjustment layers and curves and things like that, that don't necessarily require a tablet. It was really easy for me to learn how to use it though.

So, as far as being essential, it really depends on how you work and what exactly you do in Photoshop. I personally don't really NEED it for what I do, but it is useful at times. I'm guessing if you're in a professional field using Photoshop, it would be a life saver. For a hobbyist such as myself, it's a good tool, but not a necessity.